Head

Terracotta items from ancient Djenne-Jeno, founded in the 3rd century BC and abandoned in the 14th century, a city located in the Inner Niger Delta in modern Mali, primarily depict richly decorated human figures. The bodies of the sculpted figures are usually covered with geometric patterns, often linear, which the artist incised with a sharp tool or made by imprinting a thread in the clay before firing it. The purpose of these procedures remains unexplained. The dating of the figures is also problematic. The presented sculpture shows a head. There is a marked round ornament on the top of the head, which survived in a small part and most probably represented a characteristic headdress or a hairstyle. At the ears, there is the original decoration in the form of a convex knuckle ornament. It probably marked scarification, a type of body decoration by incising, scratching or burning the skin in such a way as to create a lighter scar tissue (scar tattoo) forming a pre-planned pattern. Scarification has an aesthetic, social and ritual character. It often indicates a person's origins and membership in specific societies. It is usually located on the face, neck, shoulders, back and chest.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron